ABSTRACT
The lowlands of Greater Central Asia are dry: steppe, semi-deserts and deserts. The main reasons for the aridity are predominant westerly winds and lee-side effects, which cause very low precipitation sums in the desert regions of Gobi, Karakum and Taklamakan. Mountains are the water towers in the region; due to orographic effects, they receive annual precipitation sums of 1000–2000 mm. Greater Central Asia is a well-known example of a region that strongly depends on runoff formed in mountain regions. Greater Central Asia consists of several independent nations which partly have different needs and requirements for water resources. Greater Central Asia contains the largest glacier area outside of polar regions, and is therefore referred to as the “third pole”. Changes in glacier melt water amount have a huge hydrological impact in Greater Central Asia, because here the mountain ranges are surrounded by arid lowlands where water is a precious resource.
